(C) Florida Phoenix This story was originally published by Florida Phoenix and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . At 25, Maxwell Alejandro Frost is popular among progressives. Can he capture a FL seat in Congress? [1] ['Issac Morgan', 'More From Author', '- August'] Date: 2022-08-25 Maxwell Alejandro Frost is a Florida Democrat from a younger generation. He’s garnered attention from popular progressives from the Democratic Party and other organizations, and he’s earned a reputation by some groups as a fearless leader who is running for Congress. But can he win a U.S. House seat in November to represent District 10 in Central Florida? The 25-year-old managed to receive more votes in this week’s primary election than the other nine Democratic candidates in the race, including state Sen. Randolph Bracy, an Orlando Democrat and member of the Florida Legislative Black Caucus. Frost garnered about 35 percent of the vote, compared to Bracy’s 25 percent, according to Florida election data. On his campaign website, Frost describes his upbringing, saying his mother and grandmother came to Florida from Cuba “during the Freedom Flights in the early 1960s with only a suitcase and no money.” “My biological mother was caught in a cycle of drugs, crime, and violence while pregnant,” Frost says. That said, he describes himself “as a survivor, leader, and advocate,” dedicating his life to fight for justice. Frost is a member of Generation Z, which is defined as “anyone born from 1997 onward,” according to the Pew Research Center. In the general election, Frost will compete with Republican opponent Calvin B. Wimbish, a self-described “retired Green Beret, an unapologetic Christian, and a fierce America First Conservative.” Frost has the backing of national Democrats, such as Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and more, according to his campaign website. He’s also garnered support from various organizations, such as the AFL-CIO, SEIU of Florida and the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus. In addition, several news outlets including NBC News reported that Frost was endorsed by myriad progressive lawmakers during his campaign, including U.S. House Reps. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, Mondaire Jones of New York and Jamie Raskin of Maryland. Stephen Gaskill, president of the Florida LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus, said during a phone conversation Thursday with the Florida Phoenix that his organization “endorsed Maxwell in the primary” and that Frost “ran such a good campaign and had support from so many types of people and organizations.” “Yes, he’s a progressive but I think he will represent the district well and is certainly a great successor to Val Demings in the 10th district,” Gaskill said. Demings, an Orlando Democrat and former police chief, gave up that seat to run for the U.S. Senate, and she won the Democratic nomination on Tuesday. “He expressed a really great understanding of intersectionality, meaning that not just LGBTQ issues, or issues affecting the Black community, or the Hispanic community, but how every issue whether it’s guns or violence, impacts all those communities and he understands how they all fit together,” Gaskill added. According to his campaign website, Frost was a leader of the ACLU of Florida who fought for abortion rights and voting rights for felons. On his Twitter page, Frost posted a video of himself this summer interrupting Gov. Ron DeSantis during an event and asking DeSantis “to take action on gun violence” to save lives. “He is also fearless, which is what we need,” Gaskill said. “We were impressed with the clarity of his voice and the ideas and ideals that he is expressing. And I think the generational change will be good for Florida – certainly good for Congress.” Frost has raised $1.54 million for his campaign in 2022, according to campaign finance data in early August from the Federal Election Commission. He has $536,065 left, after expenses. [END] --- [1] Url: https://floridaphoenix.com/2022/08/25/at-25-maxwell-alejandro-frost-is-popular-among-progressives-can-he-capture-a-fl-seat-in-congress/ Published and (C) by Florida Phoenix Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/floridaphoenix/